So, with the first blizzard hitting Tahoe, now’s the time to get your personal vehicle ready for snow. Jon Bartunek, owner of the Union Street Garage, tells what to do and how to do it. Starting small, with…

Wiper blades This is the time to change them. If you’ve had them a year or longer, get new blades. But, there are a lot of different designs out there — make sure you get the right one for your model, or you may have significant vision problems. Check the box — the blades should be made for your ride.

Tires Start by making sure your tires are in good condition, have plenty of tread and are properly inflated. California law requires all auto repair shops to check tire pressure every time a car comes into the shop, so the car owners don’t have to go searching for air at gas stations.

If you do need new tires, make sure they’re all-season tires. These are not the old fashioned snow tires used Back East, but tires that are good all-rounders designed to get you through ice, snow and mud.

Oil It used to be, you needed winter-grade oil for low temps, but no more. Today’s engines run on low-viscosity oil, either synthetic or conventional.

Cooling systems Ensure the cooling system has the proper antifreeze protection. Most auto repair shops have equipment that can test coolant and find its freezing point. Most owners’ manuals recommend what kind of freezing protection your car needs; I reckon most cars want anti-freeze protection down to about 30 degrees below zero. Take the test, and remember — proper coolant protection helps prevent cooling system failures due to corrosion.

Lights Very important and often overlooked. Check your headlights (including high beams), brake lights, taillights, all lights. And make sure your headlight lenses are not fogged or corroded. If they are, you may be losing up to 75% of headlight brightness — and that could be very dangerous. Modern, plastic lenses can be polished to help make the headlights brighter.

Windshield washer antifreeze Windshield washers can easily freeze up, making it almost impossible to quickly clear dirt and mud from your windshield. Some winter/summer fluids do not provide protection below 32 degrees (freezing). So, buy windshield washer fluid that has antifreeze protection. And don’t put anything other than windshield washer fluids into the windshield washer bottle — they may damage windshield wipers, paint finish and the washer system itself.

Chains Get tire chains and make sure they fit before you need them. You don’t want to find out at midnight in a snowstorm that the chains you just borrowed are not the right ones for your car. Often, I have customers bring their chains in for me to pre-fit them to their tires.

You Most importantly — make sure your winter driving skills are up to par. It has been my experience that almost every snow country car accident I witnessed was caused by driving too fast. No amount of car preparation will help if you drive unsafely.

Secret Sloper
Killington, Vermont: Top to bottom skiing, and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! Snow is good — a far, far cry from the dreaded American Skiing Company “signature snow” of yesteryear. Powdr’s manmade snow is much more like real snow. Killington’s been a bit crowded, but ski patrol admonished the younguns to keep their jumps and jibs in the park and to ride sanely amidst the masses. We’re having far more fun than we expected to this time of year.